I am looking to get into Snowboarding. Allot of my friends do it and I've been trying to start for a few years. I am currently looking for a gear. Of course everyone I talk to has a different opinion about what I should go with, so I guess I will just ask you all as well.

Well, I would say that it depends on what type of riding you are looking to do, and how much you are looking to spend. The 2 main types of boards you will find are either "all-mountain" or "free-style" (or somewhere inbetween). All mountain are for those who like to get speed on the piste (trail) and basically go anywhere on the resort. Freestyle boards are more for the terrain park; doing tricks, hitting jumps, riding rails, etc. All mountain boards are stiffer, which offers greater speed, but it may be more difficult to initiate turns than a more flexible free-style board. However, to be honest, when you are first starting out, the type of board you are on plays a minimal role in how you are riding (meaning, if you are having difficulty learning, its not the boards fault, its your lack of experience and knowledge).

I imagine since you are brand new that you don't know what type of stuff you like to do on the mountain, which is perfectly ok. My suggestion would be to get either a used or previous season's model, since 1) its cheaper and 2)you can use the older gear to get started, and then see what type of riding you want to get into... or you could just rent.

The main purchase you will get is without question your boots. You really want to fully understand what you are looking for when you get them, because if you dont have the right fit, your feet will be hating you by the end of the day. There are a lot of factors you should be looking for in a boot, and dont just rely on the sales rep at the board shop, cause its a crapshoot whether or not he/she is telling you legit info or just making up bs so you buy something. You want a boot that fits snugly around your feet, that minimalizes heel lift, with no preasure points, and still allows you to wiggle your toes a bit.

As far as bindings go, just base the bindings off of what type of boot you get. You want the two to be compatible and fit snugly, otherwise it will negatively mess with your ride.

I actually live in Nova, so if you are wondering what local spots are good or what not, I will be happy to offer my opinion. I also have some old gear that, depending on your size, might work out for you.

I hope this helps, and welcome to this awesome sport!

Andrew

P.S. if you are looking to try out snowboarding, I strongly suggest getting yourself a lesson. They are totally worth every dime you spend on them. Your friends will most likely not be as good of a teacher as the paid instructor, plus they will probably get fed up with trying to teach you and will shoot off to go have fun on their snow day, leaving you to bumble about like a blind man with his feet strapped to a wooden plank with no idea how to control it.

Yes, I am planning on getting an 08 or 09 board. Burton or Rome look to be in the lead as of right now. I am also planning on taking the learn to snowboard class at Liberty, hopefully w/n a few weeks. I will most likely be getting all-mnt because I'm not really interested in doing tricks or any of that, at least not in the first couple years. I want to just concentrate on learning how to ride well first. I don't have a firm budget, but am looking to keep this under 500 or so. I've already check out Willis, but I'll probably go back. I'm also going to check out East Coast Board Co.

Yes, I am planning on getting an 08 or 09 board. Burton or Rome look to be in the lead as of right now. I am also planning on taking the learn to snowboard class at Liberty, hopefully w/n a few weeks. I will most likely be getting all-mnt because I'm not really interested in doing tricks or any of that, at least not in the first couple years. I want to just concentrate on learning how to ride well first. I don't have a firm budget, but am looking to keep this under 500 or so. I've already check out Willis, but I'll probably go back. I'm also going to check out East Coast Board Co.

Thanks

Thats cool. Check out Ski Chalet too. They have a decent selection. I would suggest finding a pair of boots that fit well at one of those shops, then looking at online stores to see what what prices they offer. Ski Chalet/Willis/ecb are normally on the expensive side, and you can often find the same gear for cheaper at places like the-house.com or evogear.com